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Max Verstappen showed good pace in the free trials of the Bahrain Grand Prix, where he managed to top the third free trials, but struggled to beat Mercedes during the qualifying rounds.
The Verstappen driver was third behind Lewis Hamilton, who scored the first pole and posted a record time on his fastest lap, and Valtteri Bottas, who qualified second.
According to the Dutchman, Mercedes has already improved its pace compared to free tests, on track, which is difficult with the tires.
Commenting on the possibilities of racing Mercedes, he said: “It is a difficult task. I think they certainly improved their pace in the heats, and tomorrow it will be a difficult task to defeat them.”
He continued: “But we have different sets of tires, and we will see if this works in our interest or not.”
He added: “I hope it will be a very enthusiastic race, I think that is the most important thing.”
Verstappen didn’t think he could have improved his time any further. “No, I don’t think so. It was a very good lap. There was a slight drop in rear grip in the slow speed corners,” he said.
He continued: “But overall they were good qualifiers. We will see how the race will develop tomorrow.”
“It’s a very tough track on the tires so I hope we can do well,” he continued.
Commenting on the protection provided by his colleague Alexander Albon’s rating on the initial network, Verstappen said: “We’ll see how it goes.”
He concluded: “I try to focus on myself, stay close to Mercedes and then we will see if there are competitors behind us.”
